Concentrator.



J. F. ISBELL. CONCENTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 8, 1913.

Patent-ed Dec. 7, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHET1 mwwu QM S J. F. ISBELL.

CONCENTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.

Patented Dec. 7, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

I w M til JOHN ]E. ISBELL, F LOSAANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO ORREN ALLEN, 0F

' DENVER, COLORADO.

CONCENTRATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. "3, 1915.

Application filed September 8, 1913. Serial No. 788,684.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. IsBnLL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Concentrators, of which the following is a specification,

This invention relates to improvements on the type of concentrating table disclosedin my application, Serial No. 688,855, April 6th, 1912, and one object of the invention is to improve the cut-out disclosed in said application, so as to provide for more efiective and cleaner separation of the lighter materials from the concentrates passing to the cut-out.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide improved means for supporting the table.

Qther objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and referring thereto:

Figure l is a plan view of the table. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the cut-outs. Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section of cut-out. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the cut-out with the cover plate removed. Fig. 6 is a section on line ac -w in Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of one of the flexible supporting devices for the table. Fig. 8 is a vertical section thereof. Fig. 9 is a plan View of the cover plate for the cut-out.

The table indicated at 1 is mounted by flexible supports 2 on a base 3 and'is operated by a head motion 4 in such manner as to reciprocate longitudinally with a differential action, so as to cause the ore to travel from the feed box -5 at the head end of the table to the further end of the table, and means are provided for supplying water along, with the ore at the head end of the table to efiect the separation and cleaning of the ore as it passes over the table. The supporting devices 2 consist of flexible metallic strips secured by brackets 6 at their lower ends to the base 3 and secured at their upper ends to fittings 7 which are provided with cylindrical sockets 8, see Fig. 8, to receive cylindrical bearing members 9 attached to the brackets 10 depending from and secured to the table 1. The cylindrical socket 8 is closed at one end by a removable cover member 11 fastened by screws 12 so as to retain the bearing member 9 in position. The top of the fitting 7 adjacent to the bracket 10 is cut away as shown at 13 to permit of oscillatory movement of the fitting with respect to the bracket. By reason of this hinge connection between the flexible supporting strip 2 and the bracket 10, the amount of strain on the strip 2 in the longitudinal reciprocation of the table is reduced to a minimum, the strip being free to bend at its upper end and being rigidly supported only at its lower end so as to require considerable less bending action than would be necessary with the strip secured rigidly at both ends and requiring to be bent at a double curvature in reciprocation of the table. By reason of this rotatably yielding connection at the upper end of the strip and the resulting freedom of movement of the strip, the crystallization in the metal of the strip is reduced to a minimum and the operative life of the strip correspondingly increased. To further reduce the crystallizing action on the strip, I prefer to provide a pad or shim 15 of yielding material, such as leather, between the strips 2 and the flange 16 on the fitting 7 to which the strip 2 is secured by bolts 18 and a similar yielding pad 15 is preferably provided between the strip 2 and the bracket 6 on thebase 3.

The table 1 is shown as a double table, being divided by a central longitudinal parti tion 20 into two similar portions so that a description for one will serve for both. Rifi'le strips 22 extend obliquely inward and forward on the surface of this table, said strips tending to hold the concentrates and guide them inwardly and forwardly toward the center line or mid-width of the tables, and located along this center line are out out devices for removing successive portions of the concentrates. ach cut-out device comprises a box or casing 24 formed with an internal chamber 25 and provided with an inlet 26 opening from said chamber 25 toward the head end of the table, said 'casing 24 being further provided with inclined walls 27 which extend obliquely outward and rearward in line with certain of the riille strips 22 so as to form continuations of said rillle strips. A separator plate 28 is provided over said walls 27 extending inwardlyfrom said walls so as to project inwardly and rearwardly in the path of the material passing along thetable and guide the lower heavier portions of such material into the opening 26, while the lighter portions pass over the said separator plate. In order to prevent the surging or boiling action which is liable to take place at this edge and to supplement theseparating action, I provide a supplementary plate 30 extending rearwardly from the cut-out box 24 above the plate 28 and supported on side strips 31 so as to form passages 32 extending above the separator plate 28 and open at their rear ends for discharging material. A plate 35 extending over the top of the box 4 and the chamber 25 is provided with downturned flanges 36 forming parting strips for retaining, along the center portions of the table, the material passing over the cut-outs. This plate 35 is removably fastened to the box, for example, by screws 37 and is provided-with an opening 38 for exposing the interior of the chamber 25 for inspection and with a screw socket 39 above said opening to receive a screw plug 40 whereby said opening may be covered during the operation of the machine. Said plate 35 is further provided with a screw threaded opening 41 to receive a valve fitting 42 provided with a valve 43 and communicating with a water supply pipe 44. The separator plate 28 extends rearwardly into the chamber 25 and beneath the outlet of said water supply pipe so as to form a water inlet chamber 45 above the inlet passage 26 for the chamber 25. At'the rear portion of chamber 25 the casing 24 is provided with an inclined floor or knife-edge 47 terminating in a ledge 48 through which extends a discharge pipe 49 for carrying ofi the concentrates. Said discharge pipe 49 preferably screws through a fitting 50 at the bottom of the table so that the height of the upper edge of said pipe may be adjusted to vary the level at which the concentrates are taken 05. L

The operation is as follows: The ore or gravel or other material is supplied to the feed box 5 along with suflicient water and the ore and water pass forwardly along the table,.the table being slightly inclined downwardly from the head end so that the water flows from the head end to the opposite end of the table by gravity, and a longitudinal shaln'ng motion is imparted to the table by the head motion 4, causing the ore to be stratified on the table and to pass longitudinally of the table away from the head end. In this operation the heavier portions of the ore tend to accumulate at the bottom and contact with the table surface 1' and are guided by the rifile strips 22 so as to continually drift toward the center of the table while the lighter portions of the ore are washed over the rifile strips and carried toward the lower end of the table. As the concentrates or heavier portions reach the separator plates 28, they pass beneath said separator plates into the inlet passage 26 and chamber 25 while the lighter portions are washed along with the water over the separating plates 28 and through the passages 32, or in case of the extremely light portions, they will pass over the upperplates 30 and thereby reduce the amount of material which has to be separated at the main separating plates 28. During this operation, water is supplied through the valve 43 to the water inlet chamber 45 and passes over the rear portion 28' of plate 28 into chamber 25, and thence forwardly through the passage 26 in opposition to the movement of concentrates in said passage, thereby washing the concentrates and driving back any light material which tends to pass into the cut-out along with the concentrates, so that the concentrates reach the outlet or discharge pipe 49 in cleaned condition. Regulation of the cleanness of separation and the grade of the concentrates may be secured by opening or closing the valve 43 more or less, so as to vary the water supply, or by screwing the discharge pipe 49 up or down, soas to raise or lower the level of the outlet over which the concentrates have to flow to reach said pipe.

In case it is desired to inspect the condition of the cut-out at any time, the screw plug 40 is removed, said plug being preferably directly over the discharge pipe 49, so as to provide for convenient inspection and cleaning of said pipe if necessary.

l/Vhat I claim is:

1. In a concentrator, the combination with a concentrator table, of a cut-out device thereon, comprising a casing with a chamber, discharge means leading from said chamber, said chamber having an inlet at one end, a horizontal separator plate extending forwardly from the inlet of said chamber to direct the material passing below said separator plate into said casing, a supplementary horizontal plate extending above said separator plate and spaced therefrom to serve as a guide for the fluid passing over said separator plate, side walls extending divergently rearward from said cut-out casing beneath said separator plate, and side walls extending divergently rearward beneath said supplementary plate and spaced "from the casing to form passages between the said plates, the casing, and the said last named walls.

2. In combination with a concentrator table, a horizontal separator plate spaced therefrom, a cut-out having a chamber communicating with the space beneath said separator plate and provided with discharge means, means for supplying water to said chamber to produce a current of water flowing from said chamber through said outlet meaaaa in opposition to the movement of ore therein, and a supplementary plate extending above said separator plate to guide thewater and ore passing over said separator plate.

3. In a concentrator, the combination with a concentrator table, of a cut-out device thereon, comprising a casing with a chamber, discharge means leading from said chamber, said chamber having an inlet at one end, a horizontal separator plate extending torwardly from the inlet of said chamber to direct the materialpassing below said separator plate into said casing, a supplementary horizontal plate extending above said separator plate and spaced therefrom to serve as a guide for the fluid passing over said separator plate, side walls extending divergently rearward from said cut-out casing beneath said separator plate, side walls eX- tending divergently rearward beneath said supplementary plate and spaced from the casing to form passages between the said plates, the casing, and the said last named walls, and means for supplyingwater to said cut-out chamber to produce a current of water flowing through said inlet in oppositibn to the movement of concentrates therein.

4. In a concentrator, the combination with a table, of a cut-out provided with a chamber and an inlet at one end, outlet means for said chamber, a horizontal separator plate extending forwardly from said inlet, a cover plate removably secured on said cut-out casmg and having depending side flanges extending downwardly at each side of the casing.

5. In a concentrator, the combination with a table, of a cut-out provided with a chamber and'an inlet at one end, outlet means for said chamber, a horizontal separator plate extending forwardly from said inlet, a cover plate removably securedon said cut-out casing and having dependmg side flanges extending downwardly at each side of the casing, and a water supply pipe extending through said cover plate.

6. In a concentrator, the combination with a table, of a cut-out provided with a chamber and an inlet at one end, outlet means for said chamber, a horizontal separator plate extending forwardly from said inlet, a cover plate removably secured on said cut-out casing and having depending side flanges extending downwardly at each side of the casing, a water supply pipe extending through said cover plate, said cover plate having an opening directly above said outlet means for the cut-out, and a removable plug for said opening.

7 A concentrator comprising a table, riffle strips on the surface of the table extending obliquely forward toward a line extending longitudinally of the table, and cutout devices located along said line of the table for removing successive portions of the concentrates, said cut out devices having inclined walls extending obliquely outward and rearward in line with the rifle strips so as to form continuations of said rifle strips.

8. A concentrator comprising a table, riffle strips forming channels lengthwise of the table, cut out devices located at intervals along the table, each of said devices being provided with an inlet and an outlet with lnclined walls extending obliquely outward and rearward in line with the rifiie strips so as to form continuations of said rifle strips, and v a separator plate extending forward from the upper margin of the inlet, said separator plates being alined with the chaels respectlvelv to remove successive portions of the concentrates from the difi'erent channels.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Ielluride, Colorado this 4th day of August 1913.

JOHN F. ISBELL- In presence of A. W. Snoanenno, M. F. BALLEW. 

